Mamelodi Sundows maintained their stranglehold on Kaizer Chiefs, recovering from an early goal to beat Amakhosi in a breathtaking Betway Premiership match played in front of a sold-out crowd at the FNB Stadium yesterday.
Having lost all their previous four league matches against seven-time champions Sundowns in the last two seasons, Chiefs were expected to sit back and take their time in gauging their decorated visitors before preparing their attacks.
But this Chiefs under new Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi, who came here having won their first two league games away to AmaZulu FC and Marumo Gallants, showed confidence, grit and willingness to fight.
And with almost 70% of the supporters backing them, Chiefs refused to lie low and let their visitors dictate terms. The positive start gifted them the opening goal, with their main target man Ranga Chivaviro using his big frame well to shrug off Mosa Lebusa’s attempt to stop him on his way to beating Bafana Bafana’s No 1 Ronwen Williams in Sundowns’ goal.
And before Sundowns levelled matters Chivaviro had another chance to double his team’s lead when he broke free only to cross for no one.
Sundowns slowly worked their way back into the game with Thapelo Morena constantly breaking the Chiefs line on the right to put in some inviting crosses that troubled the Chiefs defence. That Sundowns managed to finally find the equaliser in the 31st minute was mainly due to Chiefs goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari’s poor positioning and anticipation of where Sundowns’ move could end.
The Rwandan gloveman was guilty of following Sundowns’ attack which came via Tashreeg Matthews, who managed to find his partner Lucas Ribeiro with an incisive pass in between Chiefs centre-backs. The Brazilians lifted his strike into an empty net as Ntwari had committed and was out of his line by the time the ball nestled into an empty net.
Sundowns’ second goal was fiercely disputed by the Chiefs bench, led by Nabi, making their protest clear to referee Sikhumbuzo Gasa after he blew for the interval.
But on review the goal looked legitimate as Riberio seemed to have timed his run to perfection to meet a delicious long-range pass from Rivaldo Coetzee. Riberio even had time to glance at the assistant referee before latching on to Coetzee’s ball and making an inviting cross for Iqraam Rayners to score his second league goal of the season since joining the Brazilians from Stellenbosch FC in July.
Chiefs didn’t give up and started the second half better. Nabi’s team could have equalised if only Williams hadn’t made a stupendous save off Inacio Miguel from a Chiefs set piece.
With their fans relentless in showing trust, Chiefs were again unlucky not to score when substitute Ashley du Preez broke free and put in a cross which caused havoc in the Sundowns area before it was cleared.
Williams again came to Sundowns’ rescue when he blocked Edson Castilo’s diving header 10 minutes from fulltime. It would have been a deserved equaliser in this pulsating encounter but Sundowns showed a lot of class in keeping their lead against a side that had their vocal fans backing them all the way.
Nabi and Chiefs fans will be disappointed with the result, but the fight Chiefs showed in both halves, attacking a team that is not used to backtracking, will give them a lot of hope.
Game management is what Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi will praise his team for, as they managed to just hold on to their lead on their way to winning a third successive league match against a Chiefs side which created several openings in the second stanza.
It’s a still long way, but Nabi may be the Chiefs coach to finally give them what they’ve missed in nine wasted years.
Scorers:
Chiefs – Ranga Chivaviro (9m)
Sundowns – Lucas Ribeiro (31m); Iqraam Rayners (37m)
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